


Would You Be So Kind?

by rainbowflavored_fiction



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Small Town, F/F, Hollstein - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 18:52:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12087222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowflavored_fiction/pseuds/rainbowflavored_fiction
Summary: based on the prompt: "You guys. My dudes. You have no idea how satisfying it is to be the only girl at a table with five dudes who are all hitting on the waitress, and you're the one who gets her number."





	Would You Be So Kind?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! I just had this little story swirling around in my head for a while ever since I saw that ONE post. It was so hilarious I went and thought to myself.... "ok, but what if Hollstein...?" and viola, this story was born! Hope you all enjoy this little number; leave a comment or two. I decided to post this because the last chapter of SFoS ruined some. Title taken from Dodie Clark's "Would You Be So Kind?" and "You" EP.

" ** _Oh, would you be_**  
**_So kind_**  
**_As to fall in love with me, you see_**  
**_I'm trying_**  
**_I know you know that I like you_**  
**_But that's not enough_**  
**_So if you will_**  
**_Please fall in love_** " - Would You Be So Kind, Dodie Clark 

* * *

 

 

        Laura was having a bad day.

A really, terrible, very bad day. It was one of those days that just started out relatively bad, then went to moderately, and now it became unbearably bad.

       First, it was raining, and Laura never liked waking up to the sound of rain. It made her sad, and restless. Then her coffee machine broke, and she had to settle for watered down coffee beans. Then she received her paper back that she worked for hours on the night before, and a bright red  _F_ glared back at her. Finally, on her way to catching the bus, a rude motorcyclist just so happened to go through a puddle that was nearby her, and she ended up getting hit with a huge wave of water.

      Oh, and the real icing on the cake was that she just got her period the moment she stepped into her job, a popular restaurant in the town of Silas called  _The Anglerfish_. She didn't even want to look at the back of her pants. She heard the snickering from her customers behind her.

"You look like shit, Hollis," Danny humorlessly pointed out. She lulled her head and placed a hand on Laura's shoulder, "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?"

      "Do you have a pad?" Laura blurts in embarrassment, feeling bloated underneath her smock. She hoped her best friend would come through for her.

Gross. She seriously wanted to go back home.

        The tall red-haired woman smiles sympathetically, "I use tampons. Is that alright?"

Ugh. Ouch. "Yeah. Fine." She answered in a clipped tone.

        "I'm sorry. You know I never felt comfortable using them. My bag is in the break room, babe."

Laura huffed as she rubbed her stomach, feeling all sorts of discombobulated. The first day was always the hardest. Why did it have to come early this month? What did she do to deserve this?

        She took morning online classes to finish off extra credits from her college, while taking the night shift from 5 pm-11pm. She lived a busy life, and she enjoyed keeping busy, but the only downside is that she didn't see her dad as often as she liked. She was lucky if she got time off during Christmas and New Years to visit him.

       She wiped her eyes, knowing she had to keep a brave face and girl the hell up. She couldn't cry in the bathroom stalls like a little girl anymore. She was an adult, just turned twenty-four, and needed to learn how to live in the real world.

Gone were the days when she was an angsty teenager where she would curl up in her bed and wait for the pain to pass over to a manageable level.

       Nodding to herself, and realizing she's been on the toilet for far too long, she cleaned herself up and checked herself in the mirror. Pimples were popping out on the oddest of places, and her butt seriously looked bigger, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She had to go to work.

           It was a busy crowd tonight. There must have been a music festival in town, because people came stumbling in drunk and wearing all sorts of elaborate clothes and dressed in shades of black.

    She was serving a particularly annoying child who seemed to hate EVERYTHING on the menu, and a parent who looked beside them self, when the door chimed open, and a gaggle of boys pushed through. Laura felt the hairs on her back stand up and she grew nervous. It wasn't that she disliked men, she just felt very uncomfortable around them. Their loud, boisterous attitude, their sly demeanor, their grungy look; she didn't want to be anywhere near it. In a happy world, she avoided them at all costs.

        She feels more comfortable around women, having a friendship with them, loving them. She blushed at the many late-night tweets she sent out raving about how wonderful and beautiful Hayley Kiyoko is. She remembers falling off her chair when the popular singer re-tweeted one of her rants.

Laura winced as one of the boys shouted, roughly pushing another one beside him. She frowned when she noticed there was five of them, and her heart sped up considerably with nerves.

       She then noticed a slumped figure beside them, a tired, gloomy girl with dark hair and a gorgeous face. She had an irritated frown on her lips, and she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Laura's heart thumped for a completely different reason now, and she bit her lip nervously. This young woman had often come into the restaurant, and it was always around this time of night. She would always order coffee, black, and a pastry from the desert menu, before leaving with a generous tip.

This is the first time she showed up with the five boys, which was odd.

 _Don't look at me, don't look at me, DON'T LOOK AT ME_ , she chanted in her mind, but of course the universe hated her today. The other woman glanced up in her direction, with miserable indifference.

       Laura shied away from her glance, discreetly rubbing her stomach, and she heard an irritated grunt from her other friend, Mel.

"Laura," she nods to the table on the far right, "It's your turn. Take table number 307."

        "Oh, god." She mumbled quietly. Great. She had to serve a table of five annoying dudes, and one gorgeous girl she may or may not have a crush on. Someone stake her. This wasn't fair.

 _Okay_ , she thought, breathing out slowly,  _you can do this_.

           Boldly turning over to greet them, Laura put on her best smile, "Hi, welcome to  _The Anglerfish_ , is there anything I can get you to start with today?"

    "How about your number, little hottie?" Chimed the larger, buff guy sitting across from the girl. He had long, black hair that hung into his eyes and a wide smile that probably made every other girl in the restaurant swoon. It only made Laura's stomach churn with discomfort, among the other things that were unfavorably churning around in there.

The raven-haired woman across from him gaped at him in shock, kicking him from under the seat. He yelped.

      "Wow. Kirsch. That's honestly the best you can do? Listen, sweetheart, and answer me honestly, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" A boy beside her asked, looking practically identical to her, save for he had green eyes while she had a beautiful chocolate brown. Not that Laura had been staring.

The beautiful woman looked offended. "William,  _shut up_." She glares. "I raised you better." She huffs.

        "Today must be your lucky day, because I just won the lottery, and you were the prize," A boy with a thick English accent chimed, cueing the other boys in knowing laughter. He looked like he just walked out of an ancient Victorian novella.

       "J.P, my dude, laying it on thick!" The Asian boy beside him cheers, pumping his fist and smiling confidently at Laura. Ugh—she despised him the most. He looked like a sleaze. "Are you a trampoline? Because I would love to bounce on you."

Laura's face visibly paled. Her hands started to shake as she resisted the urge to fling her menu at the annoying jerk.

      "Theo!" The woman grumbled, hands gripping the table. Her knuckles were turning white.

The fifth boy, who seemed to be a little shyer than the others, regarded Laura with blushing cheeks and a stutter, "Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only TEN I see."

        "Luis Andrew Kransky!" JP exclaimed, slapping him on the back. The rowdy group of boys howled with laughter.

Laura was livid. Her heart beating in her ribcage so hard she feared it would burst, tears glistened in her eyes, and she struggled to keep her composure.

       "Okay. So, um. Just... whenever you're ready to order just let me know. Our soup specials today are Chicken Gnocchi and Mushroom Soup." She weakly managed, turning on her heels and heading straight to the bathroom. The tears began to fall even before she burst into the stall, as she slouched down, and buried her head in her hand.

Ugh. Why were boys so gross? Why did they think they could objectify women so openly like that?

          Laura didn't think she was pretty. Not in the slightest. She was a total nerd who wore glasses and braces that she had recently gotten off so her teeth still hurt and she was a late bloomer with every other milestone. The only other girl she dated lasted three weeks because it had ended up being a practical joke on her inner circle of friends in high school...

Ah, crap. She was spiraling. She was heading on a downward spiral in a public bathroom at her job that she hated.

        There was a soft knock on the door.

"Um. Sorry. This stall is occupied." She hiccupped, hating how weak she sounded.

        "I just... um. Wanted to see if you were okay, cupcake." Came the gentle response, and Laura's heart skipped a beat. "And to apologize. I had to be the designated driver for my stupid brother and his equally dumbass friends. They went out to a concert tonight and wanted to drink, so mother insisted I look after them." She said with a spite in her tone.

"Y-you... don't have to apologize on their behalf. I-I'm fine." She mumbled, wincing as her stomach twisted in knots.

         "Really. Because I don't know a lot of girls who start crying because a bunch of dudes were interested in her, and wanted her number."

Laura swallowed thickly, trying to calm down. Her stomach gurgled, and before she could stop herself, she was crying softly again.

       "May I come in?" The other woman asked, and weakly, Laura unhooked the door for her. When she saw the stressed expression on Laura's face, her slumped figure, her tired eyes, her face twisted into that of sympathy. "Mrs. Flo paid you a visit, huh?"

      "It's been a long day," Laura said weakly, "I-I suffer with...  _endometriosis_ ," She mumbled softly, expecting the usual response when telling strangers that little detail. The pitied smile. The weak, "I'm sorry, sweetheart." Or, the insensitive, "How are you, really?" She winced, unwilling to look at her face, fearing the worst. "I just... normally I prepare myself mentally for when my periods going to come, but this week I've just been so busy and I ran out of pads at home because I go through them so fast…" she hid her face from the pretty woman again, "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be telling a stranger about my body dysmorphia. It doesn't matter."

      "Of course, it does, cutie. If you're in pain at work your boss should know so they could give you accommodations. This is your body and how you take care of it is your business. You know there's a difference between working hard and pushing yourself to your limits, right?"

Laura was so taken by her kindness that she began to cry again, and this time the raven-haired woman pulled her into a hug.

       "Sh. It's okay, creampuff. I've got you." The beautiful stranger murmured, rubbing the small of her back. They stayed like that for a few moments in the stinky bathroom, before they parted.

"T-thank you." She mumbled, taking a piece of hair behind her ears.

          "Anytime, buttercup."

"I have a name, you know. Not creampuff or cutie or buttercup," The tiny girl blushed, looking at her feet, "Laura Hollis."

              "Well, then. My names Carmilla, sweetheart. Carmilla Karnstein."

    "Carmilla," Laura said lazily, liking the way it rolled off her tongue. "That's unusual." The woman— _Carmilla_ —gave her a bewildered smile, to which the tiny girl rambled out, "I-I mean no offense, j-just that I usually hear Camilla, or Carmen, o-or Cara—,"

"Jesus, cupcake. Do you know how to breathe?" She chuckled, causing Laura to shiver. She gave her a gentle smile and squeezed the smaller girl's shoulders.

       They smiled at each other for a moment, until another wave of cramps coursed through Laura, and she let out a curse, slumping over.

Carmilla's eyebrows shot up in alarm, and caught her, "Okay. This selfless act of being the hero of your story had been nice, but you seriously need to get home and rest."

           "I told you, I'm fine," Laura expressed, irritated, "I can't get off work. I have an hour left of my shift. I-it'd be stupid to leave now."

     Carmilla sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Alright, then. Let's make a deal. Once I get my dumb brother and his equally stupid friends safe back home, you wait for me after your shift so I can take you back home too."

Laura's eyes widened, "Y-you... you don't have to do that."

        "I want to. I'd much rather take you off work now, but since you're being a stubborn ass, I'll wait for you until you finish."

Laura sniffed, leaning into her embrace, "Thank you, Carmilla." She muttered, giving her the weakest of smiles.

          "You're welcome, creampuff."

    They held each other close for a long moment, neither wanting to part. Carmilla gently caressed her stomach in kind, the action soothing Laura and warming her heart. No one's ever been so considerate like this before. The butterflies that swarmed around her heart were a welcome feeling.

        An exasperated Mel burst through the bathroom door, "Hollis, you've been gone for nearly twenty minutes, what the hell?! There are tables to clean and people to take care of! Get off your lazy ass and help out!"

Laura bit her lip nervously, as she watched Carmilla's expression change. She stormed over to Mel and angrily got in her face.

          "Laura is suffering and was paid a visit by Mother Nature. She hasn't been slacking off; if anything, I've been watching her work twice as hard tonight to keep up with everything. You're lucky she's decided on staying the last hour instead of quitting and going home early. So, lay off her, alright?" She hissed.

Taken aback by her kindness for the second time that night, Laura smiled and squeezed Carmilla's arm, "Carm. Hey. Take it easy."

       The expression on Mel's face changed as she looked between them, giving Laura a sly smile. "Keep a leash on your guard dog, and I won't breathe a word to the boss." She snickered, and sauntered out of the bathroom.

      Laura sighed, shaking her head. Carmilla turned to her with a miserable expression, "Do they always give you a hard time?" She asked, her hand finding its way back around Laura's waist, pulling her closer.

         "She pushes me because she knows I can handle it. I'm not dying, Carm. This is just the way my body has always been. I'd rather be achieving my goals, doing what I know best, then lazing around and whining about what I can't do because of this."

"You're amazing." Carmilla breathed, eyes wide with awe. Laura blushed.

            "I'm  _living_ ," she smiles, and her eyes grow wide for a moment, "I almost forgot. Here's my number so you can call me when you're back." She fished out a receipt from her pocket and a pen, scribbling it down and adding a little heart beside her name. Then, hesitating, she leaned on her tip-toes and gave Carmilla a thankful kiss on her cheek.

          "I'll be waiting out back for you, okay?" She chimes, and Carmilla mutely nods. The tiny girl walks out, looking back at Carmilla with a beautiful smile and a twinkle in her eyes. Carmilla, meanwhile leans against the bathroom stall, feeling overwhelmingly satisfied.

            Well. This certainly wasn't how she expected her night to go. Who would have thought the odds were with her even though she was at a table of five dudes, who were all hitting on the waitress, and she was the only one who got her number.

 _Mattie's going to get a kick out of this_ , Carmilla thought smugly. A confident smile on her face, she folded the precious receipt in her pocket, and strolled back to her table with a skip in her step.

 

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> For those who aren't aware, endometriosis is a condition in the body that affects the pelvic cavity, and the some symptoms include longer periods (while the normal period is 3-5 days, these last longer than 7), a heavy menstrual flow, nausea or vomiting, and pain during sexual activities. My cousin has endometriosis and one time she got her period while I was visiting for the summer; so instead of doing the activities we had planned for the day, I stayed inside with her and took care of her. I figured adding this would be a nice little twist to the story, and for those who do suffer with periods, would be able to relate to Laura.  
> And that's all she wrote!


End file.
